November 22, 2014 – A nun, an astrophysicist and a Post-Christian walk into a radio show…

Segments

This week on State of Belief, Interfaith Alliance’s weekly radio show and podcast, host Rev. Welton Gaddy comes to you from the Center for American Progress studios in downtown Washington. We’ll hear from three guests on the latest dynamics confronting the Christian community today. Sister Jeannine Gramick explains what an interfaith group of religious leaders discussed at a Vatican colloquium, considered a follow-up to last month’s Synod on the Family. Next up, Jennifer Wiseman, astrophysicist and director of the Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion, shares the rewards and challenges of her work to promote dialogue between religious and scientific communities. And author Christian Piatt returns to the show to discuss his new book about what remains of Christianity today, and what we should do about it.

“The Complementarity of Man and Woman” Conservative faith leaders met at the Vatican this week for “The Complementarity of Man and Woman,” an interfaith colloquium espousing the benefits of living in traditional family arrangements. Welton speaks with Sister Jeannine Gramick, co-founder of New Ways Ministry, about what happened during the meeting and what it means as a follow-up to last month’s Synod on the Family. While the Synod focused on non-traditional families, the colloquium included no participants who were outwardly supportive of LGBT rights. Critics believe LGBT advocates were too quick to believe the Roman Catholic Church under Pope Francis would support non-traditional lifestyles.

Science, religion or both? In a time where Bill Nye spends his free time debating creationists, the dialogue about the relationship between science and religion remains at the forefront. Dr. Jennifer Wiseman —astrophysicist, educator and director of the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion — talks about her experiences in finding common ground in conversations between faith communities and scientists. She refutes the idea that scientists are against or indifferent to religion, and tells Welton about the greatest challenges to her work.

Christian Piatt and the future of Christianity Author Christian Piatt returns to State of Belief following the release of his new book postChristian: What’s Left? Can We Fix It? Do We Care? Never afraid to approach taboo topics, he weighs the contributions Christianity has made to society historically against scandals leveraged against the Christian church. Rather than a “post-Christian era” being devoid of religion, Christian tells Welton now is a time to create a more progressive, compassionate and Jesus-based Christianity.